U.S. Newborn Mortality Rate Higher Than in 40 Countries

There have been some success stories that prove the possibility. In northern India, a recent study found that using simple interventions like making sure mom and baby were in a clean environment and that the baby was kept warm after birth reduced newborn mortality by more than 50 percent. "You can get rapid change, you can change things within two years," said Lawn. "You just need the will."

Coping With Silent Deaths

Even in the U.S., newborn mortality is not often talked about. But a digital movement is helping parents deal with the death of a child.

Los Angeles mom Heather Spohr gets e-mails every day from strangers around the world about her popular blog, The Spohrs are Multiplying, which receives more than one million views a month. Part of her internet success is the result of an effort to cope with her family's toughest moment -- the premature birth and subsequent loss of her firstborn daughter, Madeleine.

Spohr first started blogging over ten years ago, but when she was placed on bed rest for a complicated pregnancy, her Web tales took on a new life. The blog's popularity grew with her pregnancy, but the tipping point was perhaps when Madeleine passed away. She started receiving e-mails from strangers who had experienced similar tragedy.

"Grieving is so personal, everyone does it differently. It's not linear." Blogging, Spohr told ABC news, is "really convenient. You can come and go and get the support when you need it, as opposed to going at a certain time every day," as with counseling.

Many of the most popular mom bloggers (who regularly receive millions of visits to their respective websites) became famous after struggling through a stillbirth or the loss of a child, according to several people in the community. They say the Web is a place where they can talk candidly about these difficult issues that are so rarely discussed in public.